Surely an extraordinary confluence of circumstances must have come into alignment in order to bring this remarkable composition into existence. Done in the Korai style - referring to the heavy influence from Korean forms and glazing - this exquisite late Momoyama/early Edo period (1590-1620) Karatsu-ware tea bowl is really rare.

Regular formed wan shaped, showing fine finger marks from throwing...

Let's continue with another treasure: rounded wan-shaped tea bowl with high foot of the bamboo node style. The body pinched in at the middle to a shape called tojinbue (Chinese flute). The light, little coarse clay with enclosures is expertly thrown and full glazed - incl. the foot - with a transparent glaze of wood ash with some feldspar over a white engobe in hakeme style. The glaze shows a fine little crazing over the engobe, which is just amazing...

A beautiful and large Hakuji Seren Haruseki Tsubu-tsubu Chawan (white flashing stones spots tea bowl) decorated with an assortment of colors by shooting star artist Kawabata Kentaro.

It comes with its originally signed and sealed wooden box. For us its by far his best work and represents perfectly the artists wonderful eclectic style...

This beautiful chawan (tea bowl) is a Raku ware made by famous Kyuraku Kimura. It was made about 40-50 years ago. The seal of Raku is stamped on the bottom.

It comes with its originally signed and sealed wooden box and an appraisal of the Daitoku-ji Temple, Kyoto. This temple is very famous for its knowledge about chanoyu (Japanese tea ceremony)...

This is pure antique Edo: Wan-shaped tea bowl made of dark, iron oxide bearing, sandy Karatsu clay. The thinly thrown body is covered with the typical white, feldspatic Shino type glaze. It differs from the Mino Shino glaze by being glossier due to a higher ash content.

Under the glaze a line was applied in iron oxide resembling the skin of a whale (kawakujira). Just the foot ring and its immediate surrounding was left unglazed. The glaze has a beautiful fine crazing...

One of a kind: Edo Period Ichimonji Utsushi Raku Chawan on high flared and cut (warikodai) foot by the 11th Zengoro Eiraku (Eiraku Hozen), made in the mid 19th century. A horizontal line is molded on the body, it's the Japanese character "ichi" - one!. (Please see last picture to see an antique Ichimonji Chawan in Korean style from the Ulrich Vollmer Collection Berlin). This is one of the rare tea bowls of Eiraku Hozen fired with a lower temperature in the style of Raku ceramics...

An incredible mixture of gray and lavender colors on the sculpted natural form of this expressive Chawan by the 8th generation Kaneta Masanao.

It comes with its originally signed and sealed wooden box titled Hagi Hai-yu (ash glazed) Kurinuki Chawan.

The style is Kurinuki, not formed on a wheel but cut and worked from a block of clay, an approach the artist is world wide famous for.

Masanao likely needs no introduction...

Wonderful and important chawan: rounded wan-shaped tea bowl with high foot of the bamboo node style in the typical O-Ido shape. The light, little coarse clay with enclosures is expertly thrown and full glazed - including the foot - with a transparent glaze of wood ash with some feldspar. The glaze shows attractive shrinking (kairagi) in the lower half of the bowl...